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All of the Republican Presidential Candidates are Fatally Flawed: Mike Huckabee |
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A few weeks ago I pointed out several of Mitt Romney’s fatal flaws. Now it is time to tackle the man from Hope, Arkansas (no not that one), Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee has been surging lately in the polls, both nationally and in the ever important first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa. In fact, the ABC/WaPo republican candidate poll has him climbing from 2% to 19% since July.
Here are some of Mike Huckabee’s flaws. This is not meant to be comprehensive. If you know of better examples, please email them to me at josh@theseminal.com and I’ll include them.
Secrecy
- In his final days in office as Arkansas Governor, Huckabee ordered the destruction of the hard drives from 90 computers. This strange behavior, which cost Arkansas taxpayers $13,000, is rumored to have something to do with concealing his administration’s misuse of funds.
- Having spent most of his public life as a Southern Baptist pastor, Huckabee is now refusing to publicly release his sermons. If he wants to run as a Christian leader, Christian voters should be privy to how he lead his congregation.
Taxes
- According to Pensito Review:
Known in Arkansas as “Tax Hike Mike,†during his term in office the state “raised taxes more $505 million per year, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth, according to the state’s department of finance and administration. The average Arkansan’s tax burden grew from $1,969 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1997 to $2,902 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005.
- The conservative Club for Growth adds:
By the end of his ten-year tenure, Governor Huckabee was responsible for a 37% higher sales tax in Arkansas, 16% higher motor fuel taxes, and 103% higher cigarette taxes according to Americans for Tax Reform (01/07/07), garnering a lifetime grade of D from the free-market Cato Institute.
- Here he is in 2003, asking the state legislature to raise taxes:
Completely disconnected from reality
- On Guantanamo: “Most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo and less like the state prisons that people are in in the United States.”
- On Evolution: (He doesn’t believe in it).
- On his recent popularity: He attributes it to Divine Providence
- On Mormonism: “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”
- On his personal relationship with God: “Hello? I’m sorry. I’m right in the middle of an event. It’s who? It’s God? On the phone for me? How did he get my number? Oh, God has everybody’s number. OK? Yes, I’ll hold.”
- On his Homophobia: “By refusing to define character using fixed standards, we lose our reference point, we lose our ability to navigate, and, therefore, we drift. Who is right and who is wrong? Who knows?”
- On Walmart: “Wal-Mart is a case study in the genius of the American marketplace.”
- On Prisons: Indicated support for the following two statements. “Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring additional prison staff. Support contracting with private sector firms to build & manage state prisons.”
How else is Huckabee fatally flawed? Let me know: josh@theseminal.com.
Huckabee would be a great nominee…so easy to take down.
There’s really nothing there. You have to remember that to be elected a candidate basically needs to turn out his base. Huckabee is very very consistent with his base. Raising taxes is generally considered to be a lesser evil than deficit spending, so it’s bad but not a fatal flaw. Now showing bad judgement by pardoning a rapist who professes a religious conversion and subsequently commits a murder, *that* is a profound flaw, which could strike to the heart of his base support.
Tell that to the 70% of Republicans who still support Bush. I’d say modern republicans (read: not conservatives) would much rather have low taxes and deficit spending than high taxes and a balanced budget.
Interesting article. I am definitely not a Huckabee supporter and even though I was already against him before I saw this, this just gives more more of a reason.